For UT Regent Wallace Hall, AG’s opinion on access to records provides a measure of vindication

In a dispute over access to records of favoritism in University of Texas admissions, Regent Wallace Hall Jr. has won a major round. This story explains that state Attorney General Ken Paxton’s opinion makes it clear that the UT System and its Board of Regents cannot bar a regent’s access to records unless a state or federal law requires otherwise.

System Chancellor Bill McRaven and the board have been blocking Hall’s access to the records. So what now? The opinion, which is advisory, seems pretty clear. Paxton even said that the federal student privacy law doesn’t allow a university to withhold student records deemed necessary for evaluating a state-supported education program.

“We appreciate and respect the opinion of the attorney general, and the Board of Regents will consider the opinion in executive session during this week’s board meeting,” said system spokeswoman Jenny LaCoste-Caputo.

That closed-door session will take place Thursday. At least for now, Hall hasn’t gotten any of the emails, interview notes and other records he seeks. Meanwhile, he must be feeling better, considering the bruises he’s sustained in recent months from a state House panel and a Travis County grand jury, in part for his relentless demands for records from the Austin campus. The panel and the grand jury sharply criticized him, but they stopped short of recommending impeachment or indicting him, respectively.

Stay tuned.

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